Kamui Woods leads us halfway across the city at the same breathless, ragged pace he always seems to use. There's no time for questions or even thoughts in the race. So instead, I swerve and glide, wings pumping furiously behind me to try to stay close, barely missing rooftop billboards, gardens, and more in the rapidly dwindling light.

Dark swells of shadows bloat around us, hot winds with the smell of smoke and exhaust whipping by.

So it makes our destination obvious. Sirens wailing hungrily, flashing lights glaring off brick walls. An explosion shatters a crumbling building, blowing out windows and scattering debris. Shouts of victims echo shriek below, bright flashes of cameras shuttering.

There're heroes involved already, and I grimace, catching sight of a familiar blonde, nude and purple tights-

My wings fan. I pull to a jerky stop, eyes widening.

Are those… motorcycles?

What looks like a gang of motorcycles grumble and circle, spinning and clashing through the air. Like a massive metal dragon. Kamui, below, continues undaunted, but I watch, awestruck, as the massive—at least thirty strong—horde flies, the hum of their engines so powerful I can feel them rattling against my bones. Like a drum, thunderously pounding the air. They tear apart everything as they ride, their laughter insidious and cackling. Windows shatter. A blast of brick and wood rips away and scatters. Splinters strew, spraying into the screaming people below.

They fly undaunted, directly toward the giant blonde. It's like watching a train wreck. Her arms up and crossed, as if bracing to stop them.

That's not going to work.

The horde cackles, engines revving. Exhaust a thick tail trailing at their backs.

It doesn't work.

The gang roars, flying forward. They rip around the woman like a tide, brakes screeching, tire tracks burning against her arms and shoulders. One particularly brave one pops a wheelie on her head, and I grimace at her screech, unimpressed when she reaches blindly for nothing.

"Mount Lady!"

Kamui arrives in seconds. Reaching up, he grasps one, but only the bike, before they're circling back—and then the horde is returning. The bike is abandoned, a masked figure scrambling into the chaos. There's a ruin of rubber and metal between wooden branches when flaming canisters are tossed. Kamui quickly retreats, but it's not fast enough.

The ruined heap crashes down, slamming into concrete with an echoing boom. My breath catches as my mentor's hand reforms, smoldering and burnt. My body moves on its own, hot anger rising blistering to the surface.

How dare they?

"Kamui!"

Who did they think they were to cause so much chaos?

The blonde—the same one I recognize from my first meeting with my mentor—catches several of the canisters snarling. They explode in her fist, several loud popping sounds that have me moving faster, and I'm halfway across the space when she drops them, bloody chunks of metal fused into a ball the size of a desk.

"Lady, we need to-"

The roar of the horde drowns out everyone in the cacophony.

"Nova!" my mentor shouts, barely audible. "Watch out!"

I twist.

Massive, demon-horned helmets atop skull-masked faces grin and close in. A shiny black mask flickers over it. Two holes at the top and a sideways 8, Yui-san's gray visage—dead. A large man, Nee-chan in hand. The image flickers away almost as soon as it comes, but the effect remains and I sneer, hot black tentacles rising up my throat.

Bastards.

Pretending to be demons?

I'll show you monstrous.

My jaw drops, yawning wide enough it nearly unhinges, and thick tentacles the size of limbs spill out like licking flames. Masked cowards. Snakes split from the ends, claws stretching from the edges. A faceless child screams, silent in my quirk's smoke.

The painted eyes widen, wheels pulling back to turn-

Except it's too late.

I tear through them without remorse, ripping metal and rubber to screams. Someone curses and another canister flies. I track the flaming metal arc overhead, hissing and bright. I reach, teeth bared, and crush it, the detonations echoing inside my quirk. Billowing, hot reds and golds like a radiant sun burst through an inky sky. In the night, it looks like a shooting stars.

And the world sinks.

Or rather, the bikes, melted and torn, plunge into the abyss of concrete below. A skeletal mask shrieks, eyes wild and full of terror. There's wood spiking through the chaos, and a man that would have killed me only moments before throws out an arm, clawing for escape. I sneer down, wings fanning at my back, purple flames licking across my hair.

"HELP!"

No.

Wooden branches rise, like fingers from the depth, like the hands of some hellish beast. They stretch, crawling across his chest and neck and face and-

He disappears into the streets below with a shriek, more of the masked riders following. The sound of their horde splinters, shouts rising of confusion and chaos. I rise. I rise above it all, stretching in the moonlight until my shadows encompass the sky.

What's left of the skeletal masks turn.

Rows of white masks.

Wide, terrified eyes.

A child screams. My tentacles ripping through a door, and I duck in. An old man, a teenager, and what appears to be a young boy tucked behind the old man's arms. Dirty and wearing rags. A haggard hunger in their face—and a raw fear. I tear through the rest of the building, finding more—more elderly—more teens—more children.

I snarl, something dark and vicious rising in my chest. Wooden bindings rise. Motorcycles revving, brakes squeal-

I plunge back into the mass. Smoke and metal and chaos.

Join a Hero. Prove your worth. Team up with the Owl.

Take him down.

I glide through the mess, a nightmare ripping through their tires, their handlebars, their canisters. The thick swell of smoke and screams explodes furiously in my wake.

Look, Owl, because you're next.

.

.

.

"Oh my god! Rin-chan!"

I pause, bookbag in one hand and shoes in the other, and blink, turning exhausted back towards my classmates. Mina, dancing loudly across the lobby, squeals and spins, her graceful turn somehow slipping sideways and rolling into a one-armed cartwheel. I sigh at the chaos of it, too tired to question it, and bend down to put on my shoes.

Really, this could be anything.

"Yes?"

"Rin-chan! Don't be so unenthusiastic! Have you seen yourself?"

Scrubbing the sleep from my eyes, I blink slowly at the pink-skinned girl.

Seen… yourself?

"Uh… yeah?"

I look at myself every morning after getting dressed.

Glancing down, I frown at my uniform.

Did I put on something backward?

Long green skirt buttoned in the back, ironed white blouse, undershorts and tie… I wouldn't be surprised if something was out of place. Waking up had been harder than ever, especially since I'd only crawled into bed at 4, kept late at the station by piles and piles of paperwork. Paperwork, I apparently didn't know how to fill out correctly.

Between statements and cataloging illegal contraband (which I'd decimated) and rewriting statements, because you couldn't just say you 'took down' villains, the night had feel never-ending.

"Not in the mirror you goof!" Toru laughs, her ghostly uniform skipping over. She clings readily to my sleeve and squeezes, the pressure strangely comforting. "On the news! You, Kamui Woods, Mount Lady, and Edge Shot, you're all over everything! Whoever was in charge of the camera was awesome too! You look badass!"

Letting go, she and Mina meet together with a wild shout, both arms stretched out and leaping.

"Aaaaahhhh!"

I sigh.

Kaminari, precariously balancing on one leg with a half-chewed piece of toast stuffed in his mouth and attempting to tie his shoe with the other, stumbles over, expression peaking.

"M-what?! M-I wanna see!"

"Seriously? Swallow?" Jiro teases, nose wrinkling.

"Dude! Share it with the group!" Kirishima calls, half hanging out the community kitchen. "I wanna see!"

"Yeah! Share it," Satou shouts, his fingers combing through his hair as he tries to style it and walk. I find myself wrinkling my nose at the lot of them.

"Right…"

Not really sure what to say to any of that, I just shrug and stand. It isn't like they're talking to me specifically anyways. Yawning, I fiddle with the back of my shoe.

So loud…

My phone buzzes in my pocket. The sound of the lobby disappearing behind the closing door.

Shouji, a few paces ahead, slows slightly, turning to glance back.

Stepping next to him, I manage an exhausted grimace.

"Work last night?"

"Yeah…"

"Ah…"

I don't really have the energy to talk, and the tall boy doesn't seem to mind it. His steady footsteps solid and sure. So we walk, quiet as the warmth of the rising sun spills across the morning world. It lights the UA campus green, red, and gold, sparkling off crystal drops of dew and scattering through quickly coloring leaves. It contrasts richly to the sapphire sky, and… and it's beautiful.

Like last night could have just been a dream.

Like maybe this is…

My phone buzzes, near incessant in my pocket, and I sigh, dragging the stupid thing out.

The video, as requested, sits unwelcomely in the group chat, the little rectangle displaying a seething mass of winged darkness cut across an opulent moon. I scrub at my eyes, blinking at the dozen stupid little hearts and exclamations and thumbs up rattling the corner and my notifications.

Damn Hoki!

Dude, you think we could use that in special effects?

OMG! Guys! Imagine the stage all dark and Rin-chan's quirk all spread and glowing! The galaxy one!

Ohh! We could have like an indoor constellation!

What if we mixed in Aoyama-kun's light and Todoroki's ice, then we could have falling stars.

It's… strange.

Strange and… and something, something that tightens in my chest.

I remember the way Niko had shook the video player, had played it on rewind. "Hero?" she laughs, showing it again. "That's no hero!" Loud and abrasive as she leers, hitting repeat. But they didn't do things like that.

Ever.

So cool!

Look at Nova go!

Get 'em!

Warmth, as light and familiar as the sun spreads beneath my skin.

My classmates…

They were mine.

"Hoki-chan?"

The world blurs, the oranges and reds of the coming autumn distorting and cool as a crisp breeze whispers against my face, pulling at my hair and tugging at my skirt and-

And I smile, the truth of it bared against my skin.

Shouji falters, his eyes widening as his steps stumble to a sudden halt.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I'm just… I'm just really glad I came here," I admit, sweeping away the unbidden tears and glancing back fondly. Our classmates laugh, their voices carrying behind us as everyone plays and dances and gestures excitedly to the other. Bakugou's grumbles mix with Iida's shout and Ochako's giggles become infectious as all the others around her join in and... "It's… Everyone… Everyone is so nice…"

The thick arm that gently reaches is warm. Strong. Steady.

Shouji steps over, a hand settling on my shoulder calmly.

"Yeah…"

There's something knowing in his voice. Something that... despite how little we know each other, makes me feel like he understands.

"C'mon, we should get inside."

.

.

.

The day passes in a blur, so quickly it almost might not have occurred. I gobble down lunch with Hitoshi, pinking as he and Daisuke tease me over the video apparently now circulating the school. And then after school, we have festival practice (which just feels like quirk training) and maybe a brief nap except Ojiro's sighing and telling me to go home-

"SENSEI!"

I beam, tiny flickers of fireflies dancing across my nose as I kick off my shoes. Sensei's almost never in the lobby, at least, not long. Stooped, he blinks up from his conversation with Momo and turns, expression smoothing into fond exasperation.

"Rin-"

He doesn't finish.

Uncaring for our audience (mainly just Kaminari, Kyoka, and Tokoyami), I slam into him at full speed, arms encircling his muscled waist and words spilling out almost incessantly.

"Sensei! Sensei! We had practice this afternoon, and it was so cool! It- It was manly! And I did the coolest thing with my quirk! I can make shadow puppets! Shadow puppets! They're so awesome! I can't wait to show you! And we're thinking of mixing them with ice, and it was so neat and- and-"

A large, calloused hand wraps around my head and pushes me into his stomach, muffling my words and launching me into giggles. I push away easily, snorting when my guardian just raises a brow smirking and-

"S-Sensei!"

"I was talking," he huffs, head tilting slightly. "Wait your turn."

Dramatically, I sigh and sprawl over the back of the nearby couch, hooking my knees over the back and dropping my head onto the sitting cushions. Momo, beside me, just covers her smile.

"It's okay, Aizawa-sensei, if you need to… em, talk…"

"She can wait," he interrupts, sparing me a bland look before turning back to Momo. Puffing out my cheeks, I slide the rest of the way down, unhooking my legs. Wwwwaaaaiiiit!

That's gonna take forever!

I cross my arms and grumble, nose wrinkling even as I stare upside down at the world. Waiting always takes forever. Like days or weeks. Like waiting for that Kamui Woods to fake join up with the Owl, or waiting for cupcakes to cool or- or-

Bakugou, returning from the kitchen with water, pauses and frowns. Brows furrowing together, he blinks down at my upside-down figure, brows furrowing.

"What the hell…"

Then, as if deciding it's not worth it, he snorts and moves back towards the drums, and, thoroughly distracted, I kick myself into a handstand, arms braced on the cushions, I bend over, flipping upright to my feet.

"Bakugou!"

"Go away," he grumbles, eyes narrowed as he sits behind the set, black rubber pads covering all of the instruments. "Don't you have some extras to annoy?"

Extras?

I grin, mischievous and bored.

"Are you suggesting I'm not an extra?" I ask, following him to the drum set. His scowl deepens. "Cause I'm not! I'm super powered! I'm manly-"

"Shut up," the blonde scoffs, cheeks pinking. He sits with more force than necessary and glowers. "What do you want?"

"Everything?" I shrug, leaning over his chair and ignoring boundaries in order to tap experimentally on one of the drum pads. Close enough another inch and we'd touch, I can nearly taste the smoke from his quirk mixing with faded cologne. It kinda reminds me of his shirt, the one he let me use when we were out in the woods. "Mostly for Sensei to stop ignoring me. How do the rubber things work?"

"Tch," Bakugou says, shrugging me off and picking up a drumstick. He spins it between his fingers, eyes narrowed and thumps it with half its sound against the pads. "It muffles the noise, dumbass. Now go find someone else to bother."

I grin, a terrible idea worming its way into my head.

"Show me?"

Glaring, Bakugou regards me sourly.

"No."

"Come on, Ka-chan," I tease, and the way he bristles makes it so much better. I slide forward, half-pressed against his leg, and I can see the light as he realizes what I'm up to.

"Oi!"

"Rin."

Unrepentant, I grin stupidly at Sensei's sour expression, all my teeth exposed and eyes half-lidded. Several of my classmates' eyes widen, even Tokoyami whose beak has fallen open comically.

"Is she in Bakugou's lap?"

"Is that Sensei's smile?"

"Rin-chan!"

"Guess you're done with that conversation?" I ask, unperturbed and amused as Momo flushes and the others nearly fall over. Jirou, pretending not to notice, coughs suddenly, and If anything, Bakugou looks ready to toss me there himself. I pat his shoulder, stepping away with that same stupid grin.

"Dumbass."

Sensei, arms crossed, looks decidedly not amused.

"You have my undivided attention," he promises, expression sour. "Couch. Now."

I consider telling him to wait his turn, but the thought of an extra two weeks of essays sounds terrible. So, shrugging, I haphazardly wander back. Sensei joins me almost immediately, nose pinched between his fingers. I ignore him, scooping up Miska and sprawling lazily against the couch. It wasn't like I actually broke a rule anyways.

"Rin."

"Sensei," I repeat, bored. "Yes?"

He sits on the other end of the couch frowning, legs spread and hands clasped between them. He looks… he looks disappointed and I don't like it. It scratches at my insides, tearing away all my good mood, and I glower back, nose wrinkling as I rub Miska into a purr.

"Do you want to explain yourself?"

Explain myself?

My jaw tightens.

"Explain what?" I ask, somehow managing nonchalance. "I wanted to tell you something and you were busy. I found something else to do."

"Annoying Bakugou," Sensei retorts dryly. "Did you not hear him tell you to go away or did you not think they applied?"

I…

I feel my mouth drop before I manage to reel it in.

"Are- Are you serious?" I snap, completely done with him and his stupid face. I push Miska out of my lap and glare. "I'm in trouble for being bored."

"You're being talked to for not respecting others' boundaries," Sensei says, voice flat. "I asked you to wait while I discussed something with Yaoyorozu, and you decided to take it out on Bakugou. I heard him tell you twice with words to leave him alone. We've spoken about this before Rin. It's what got you grounded in the first place."

I scowl, only too familiar with his long discussions about boundaries.

"But I- I didn't hurt him!"

"You irritated him, purposefully invaded his space, and ignored the boundaries he tried to set with the sole purpose of getting back at me for not immediately giving you attention. You can write an apology."

An apology.

To Bakugou.

I grind my teeth and glare. Because of course he'd never made Bakugou apologize. Who cares that he called me 'emo-bitch' or 'Scarface' or constantly told me to not cry.

"Fine," I snap, completely done with this conversation. Pushing myself up, I move to stand, but Sensei stops me with a gesture.

I glower.

"What now?"

The way his nostrils flare, I can tell this isn't the right response. Honestly, I don't even care. At this point, I'd almost take another dozen stupid essays than see his stupid face.

"Rin," he says, voice a warning.

I breathe heavily through my nose, arms crossing as I sit, cross-legged on the couch.

Sensei inhales slowly.

I hope he coughs.

"You wanted to tell me something about your quirk?"

I spear him with my best rendition of 'that's the stupidest question you've ever asked' that I can manage. His eye twitches, but I ignore it, completely done. Let it.

"Not anymore."

He crosses his arm, lips thin.

"Alright-"

I move to stand, but Sensei gestures to me to wait again, and I don't understand what he could possibly want now.

"Rin," he starts, but I throw out my arms in disgust.

"I'm listening!"

He stares, looking less annoyed and more like he too would rather be anywhere else. Well, join the club. Folding his arms, he stares half-lidded back.

"Breathe."

I suck in a breath, being extra careful to make it noisy.

"Happy?" I grumble, and he looks only a heartbeat away from getting up and leaving himself.

I wish he would.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Sensei says flatly. "I'm also going to assume that this weird mood of yours is because you're tired."

I open my mouth to argue, but the look he directs promises actual consequences if I interrupt. So I close it and glower.

"We need to talk about something unrelated to school and I'd rather we do it tonight so you have time to process it. Tomorrow, the little girl from the hospital, Eri, will be coming to tour the school. Mirio is escorting her and will be showing her around. This is the first stage in the plan for UA to take guardianship, which means we should expect a few more visits before she physically moves in. That leads me to what I actually needed to talk to you about. With her quirk so unstable, I need to be able to have quick access to her in case of emergency. I'll no longer be taking hero missions regularly, like when you first came to stay with me, but it also means she'll be staying with us in the evenings. Rin, this set of rooms wasn't meant for a family, it was meant for the homeroom teachers to have a room and office near the students if they needed it."

I can feel the annoyance fall away in an instant, replaced instead by something cold.

"With us?" I repeat, mouth dry.

Sensei sighs, one hand sliding through his hair as he leans back to regard me steadily.

"Yes, with us. We've discussed this before. With her quirk so unstable and the Yakuza still at large, even in small pockets, it was the best choice and Principal Nezu wants to house her here at UA. Regardless, we have two main options. The first is we can move, there's a main staff building about half a mile East of here where all the other teachers are. There you and Eri would have your own rooms, but you wouldn't have easy access to 1A's lobby and you'd be living sharing lobby facilities with many of the other teachers. We would also need to pack everything and move again, but the second option is we stay here and you share a room."

I swallow, not liking either choice.

"I… I don't want to move," I whisper, brows furrowing.

"I don't need a decision today," Sensei says, eyes drifting over to Miska who'd begun pawing at his leg. Leaning over, he scoops and pulls her up, expression softening as he scratches behind her ear. "In fact, unless something drastic happens, I don't expect she'll be here until early November."

Early November.

It… That wasn't that long! It was already the second week of October. That- That was only a few weeks away!

Sensei sighs, meeting my eye once more.

"Questions?"

Feeling suddenly heavy, I look away, eyes drifting to my hands.

What was there really to ask?

"No, sir."

"Rin…"

"Can I go now?" I ask, not meeting his eye. There's a long moment, and for a second, I expect him to refuse. Probably to talk about feelings or promise me some stupid thing like this won't change anything or everything will work out.

"Yes."

Pushing off the couch, I trudge to my room. Slumping on the mattress, I stare blearily at the walls.

Stupid Sensei.

Reaching for the rabbit, I hug it close, the shine of the bracelet Recovery Girl gave me reflecting the hall light. He chose you.

I hold it, crushing it and the rabbit to my chest.

Then, too tired to think any further, fall asleep.

.

.

.

I wake to warm, calloused hands sliding against my arm, the bed dipping steeply to one side.

I groan, too comfortable to get up.

"Sensei…"

"Your phone is going off Rin."

Something cool presses in my hand, and too tired to care, I shove it to the other side of the bed and grab instead for his hand. So warm. Ignoring the low buzz of my notification, I drag Sensei's pliant hand to my face, kissing the inside of his wrist and pressing his palm against my cheek. Then, yawning, I roll over and pull him with me.

He chuckles.

"Rin, I'm not laying down."

I tug again, smiling when he doesn't immediately steal back his hand.

"Rin-"

"Please," I whine, scooting over further to give him space. He makes a noise, something close between a sigh and a scoff, and I turn just enough to blink up at him sleepily. "I wanna show you what I learned."

There's something surprised in his expression.

I don't consider it, too happy when, sighing, he climbs over the covers beside me.

"Fine…"

I giggle, scooting all the way over so he can squeeze in beside me, and reluctantly, my guardian stretches lazily like a cat.

"I'm watching."

Rolling onto my back, I concentrate blurrily on the images I was practicing with the others. Dark blooms of shadows curling with more stars than usual expand from my fingertips. Stretching, twisting, swirling. I direct it into familiar shapes—four legs and a tail, whiskers, and a pair of pointed ears.

A shadowy rendition of Miska lifts its paw from my palm, and Sensei, quiet beside me, reaches out a hand to examine it. I giggle, amused as it shatters almost the instant he touches it. Bright, glittering heaps of tiny stars scatter across my bed, raining down and winking out of existence.

Sensei blinks, a tiny smile peaking on his lips.

"Ah…"

I roll over, concentrating again, and form the shades again.

This time people rise up from my hand, like a shared secret between us. They stretch and bend, spinning until Sensei stands there, looking like he always does in my mind. Dark, shaggy hair loose against broad shoulders. He stands lazily, hands shoved in his pocket. I let the image change, turning instead to Uncle Zashi, hair in a bun with finger guns outstretched and mouth open silently. It takes more concentration, but Aunt Nemuri appears a second later. Her smaller form curved and posed, long hair swaying behind her with glasses perched on the end of her nose.

"Well done," he says, tapping the shadows and spilling stardust all around us. It's so pretty, glinting in the air like glitter and raining down like snow. "I'm assuming that's for the festival?"

I nod, squirming close enough I can rest my head on his shoulder.

"Yeah… 'm sorry Sensei."

Sensei looks at me curiously.

"For…?"

Flushing, I bury my face against his chest.

"For being rude," I mumble, skin warming especially as I remember my words. "And… And for Bakugou…"

"You can tell me all about it in tomorrow night's essay," Sensei hums, amused. I groan, but he ignores it, patting my head even as my phone buzzes behind me. "You also might as well get up. I'll start dinner in a few and I want to hear from you how that mess with Dusk Riders last night turned into so much paperwork."

"Those flying motorcycle idiots?" I huff, sitting up reluctantly as Sensei rolls out of bed and I follow him up. "They tried to run over me!"